By the consent of the Amírs and Vazírs of Maḥmúd he ascend­ed the imperial throne, and having come from Harí* to Balkh, spent the winter there, and summoning Aḥmad ibn Ḥasan Maimandí whom Sulán Maḥmúd kept a prisoner in the fort of Kálinjar, made him a Vazír. Then leaving Balkh he came to Ghaznín and thence started for Sipáhán and Rái, and arriving at Herát engaged in war with the Turkománs, and not overcoming them, but on the contrary suffering defeat at their hands, turned back. The Turkománs increased in power day by day owing to his weakness, till affairs assumed the aspect which they eventual­ly did.*

In the year 423 H. Aḥmad ibn Ḥasan Maimandí died, and in ^22. the year 424 Sulán Mas‘úd having undertaken to conquer Hindustán marched towards the fortress of Sarsatí* which is situated in the way to Kashmír, laid siege to it and reduced it and made his way to Ghaznín with great booty. Then in 425 H. Sulan Mas‘úd reduced Amal* and Sári* and sending legates to Kálinjar and Tabaristán established his authority there* and sent Tughdí Beg and* Ḥusain ibn ‘Alí ibn Maikál with a large army from Níshápúr against the Turkománs, and a severe battle ensued in which Ḥusain was taken prisoner and Tughdí Beg fled and returned to the Amír Mas‘úd.

Amír Aḥmad Niyál Tigín* the treasurer of Sulán Mas‘úd whom Mas‘úd had fined and had sent to Hindústán,* on arriving in Hindústán revolted* and the Amír Mas‘úd nominated a general of the Hindús named Náhir* to oppose him. Aḥmad being over­come in battle fled to Manṣúrah* in Sindh and was drowned — his head they sent to Ghaznín. In the year 427 H. (1035 A.D.) a new palace was completed in which they erected a throne inlaid with jewels, and suspended above it a jewelled crown. The Sulán took his seat upon that throne and having placed the crown upon his head gave a public audience. And in this self same year he bestowed upon Amír Maudúd ibn Mas‘úd (his son) the drum and ensign,* and despatched him to Balkh while he himself proceeded with an army against Hindústán—captured the fort of Hánsí* and thence proceeded to the fortress of Sonpat.* Deipál* the commander of ṭhat fortress fled to the forest and lay hid there. They reduced the fort and captured immense booty putting to the sword the greater part of Deipál's army, but he himself escaped alone. From thence Mas‘úd turned his steps towards the valley of Rám* who sent a large offering accom- ^23. panied by a written apology for his non-appearance. Amír Mas‘úd accepted his excuses and giving the Amír* Abúl-Mujáhid son of Mas‘úd,* the drum and standard (of commission) sent him to Lahore and retraced his steps to Ghaznín.

In the year 428 (1036 A.D.) he left Ghaznín for Balkh intend­ing to crush the rebellion of the Turkománs who evacuated Balkh and retired into the surrounding country. The Sulán then crossing the Jíḥún occupied the whole of Transoxiána. Dáúd the Turkomán, who had previously defeated Tughdí Beg and Amír Ḥusain, marched with a large force towards Balkh. Amír Mas‘úd thereupon returned from Transoxiána to Balkh and Dáúd the Turkomán* leaving Balkh went to Merv. In the meantime Tughdí Beg* had been acting oppressively in the neighbourhood of Gurgán. When the Amír Mas‘úd perceived the symptoms of his rebellion he ordered him to be impaled. The Amír Mas‘úd then exacted a stipulation and promise from Béghú* the Turko-mán who was the chief of that tribe, that henceforward they would never attempt any lawlessness, and having delimited their boundaries in a suitable way left for Herát. While on his way thither a body of the Turkománs fell upon the army of Mas‘úd, killing some and plundering the baggage. The soldiers of the Sulán who were told off to attack them made the whole of that party food for the sword, and brought their wives and families together with the heads of the slain into the presence of Amír Mas‘úd who sent asses laden with the heads to Béghú. Béghú apologized, and it so happens that this is the very same Béghú in praise of whom the poet Ẓiáí* of Persia has composed several odes from which the following verses are selected—

^24. It is wrong for me to bewail the misfortunes of others than thee,
It is wrong not to weep with thy sorrow.
My occupation day and night is to lament and bewail thy sorrow.
Thou did'st say, “Thou did'st weep for love of me,” but verily there is a difference in shedding blood and shedding tears
At all hours I suffer a thousand pangs for the grief of the love of thee, nor do I weep alone.
I cannot but melt with love of thee, nor is there any remedy for the pain I suffer for thee, save weeping.
A part from thee Fate has nothing in store for me
Save vexation, one day, and weeping the next.
From thy era discord springs, for if not how comes it to pass that the whole world should weep from my time to that of the king?
Béghú Malik Sháh, he who by his sword made the brave warriors to weep openly on the field of battle.
The King Niám Dín to whom at the time of his conflict
Came from the tombs of Rustum and Dárá the sound of weep­ing.
The gems in the depths of the sea or in the heart of the flinty rock were compelled to weep for shame at his elo­quence,
The inhabitants of the world above were compelled to weep, cast down by the destroying arrow of his wrath.
From envy of his splendour, which surpasses the sun in its ^25. zenith,
The Gemini were forced to weep constantly in the heavens.
Oh! thou in presence of whose pearl-scattering hand the ocean weeps like a cloud from every pore!
Who in view of thy majesty would dare or desire to weep over the corpse of thy enemy?
Thy sword from very fineness of temper weeps tears of blood over thy enemies in the field of battle,
What is prepared for thine adversary in either world?
There is the torture of hell, here he must weep.
Lo! one who in the madness of his fear at thy displeasure
Seeks to hide himself in a corner and prepares to weep.
Thy enemies have many manifest and hidden projects
But the wound is hidden, the weeping is manifest.
I believe that this must have come into your exalted mind,
After all what use is praise to me with weeping.
When I recite any poem in separation from thee
Both the first and last verses weep for anguish.
Till lovers pass from excess of grief to endurance and to weep like Wámiq and ‘Azrá*
May it be thy lot to smile after a happy life,
May it be the fate of thy enemies perforce to weep.

^26. The following is also by him:—